There Are Many Ways to Travel the World Together
In keeping with the theme for National Family Literacy Day, “Travel the World Together,” I want to describe how I travel in my work. As the Community Connections Coordinator, I run programs for immigrants to help them adjust to life in Yellowknife. Often, I learn as much from the participants as they might from me. At Global Cooking, I am in awe as I watch the newcomers prepare delicious food with incredible efficiency. Other times, our discussions may cover religion, politics, or aspects of day to day living in another climate. For example, one night at the…
Travel the World Together - learn about the world without leaving your community!
Each year on January 27th we celebrate National Family Literacy Day. In 1999, ABC Life Literacy Canada created National Family Literacy Day as a day of awareness and celebration of family literacy and families having fun and spending time learning together. Two decades later it is now celebrated across the country, as well as here in the NWT! This year our celebration will look a little different than in years past, but we are still very excited about all the events taking place around the territory. The theme for this year is Travel the World Together, so we…
Indigenous Languages Month – February 2021
“Traditionally, education was not schooling. Learning for survival happened during all the waking hours, each and every day, and all life long. Learning occurred through life experience—not in abstraction or set apart from on-going life activities.” - Dene Kede [K-6], 1993, p. xxvi This year, the NWT Literacy Council is once again coordinating the annual Indigenous Languages Month (ILM), a promotion and celebration of Indigenous languages in the NWT. This year’s theme is “Cook With Me,” a call to action for residents to connect with loved…
Our Holiday Gift Book Picks, Part 3
Each December, NWT Literacy Council staff members choose books that they will be giving as a gift, would like to receive and read over the holiday, or a favourite book they have been given in the past. This is the third group of our picks. Read our blogs from December 3 and 11 for parts one and two. A book I am going to share this holiday season is The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim. Jooyoun Kim tells the story from the viewpoint of two characters: Margot and her mother, Mina. Margot goes on a trip to where she grew up in Koreatown, Los…
Our Holiday Gift Book Picks, Part 2
Each December, NWT Literacy Council staff members choose books that they will be giving as a gift, would like to receive and read over the holiday, or a favourite book they have been given in the past. This is the second group of our picks. Read our blog from December 3 for part one, and on December 17 for part three. I am giving The End of Everything by Katie Mack to my eldest daughter. One of her classes at university this year is on astrophysics, a subject that she finds extremely fascinating. She dreams about one day working with The National Aeronautics…
Our Holiday Gift Book Picks, Part 1
Each December, NWT Literacy Council staff members choose books that they will be giving as a gift, would like to receive and read over the holiday, or a favourite book they have been given in the past. This is the first group of our picks. Read our blog again December 10 and 17 to see more. My choice for this year’s book recommendation is The Wild Heavens by Sarah Louise Butler. It was originally recommended and gifted to me and my colleagues by another talented author, Richard Van Camp, after a trip to Fort Smith together. It is not easy for an author…
Multicultural HIPPY now in Yellowknife
Nine years ago, my boys and I came to Canada as newcomers. We were, of course, excited about the new life that awaited us. However, within a few weeks, reality began to sink in, the excitement almost disappeared instantly, and the questions started popping up. Will I get a job? Will my children be able to adapt to school knowing that English is a second language? Will we be able to adjust to the Canadian way of life, with new food, clothing, school, and community? The what, where, why, and how suddenly became overwhelming. As a mother, I…
World Children’s Day: November 20
For over 60 years, the United Nations has marked World Children’s Day on November 20. Each year, the day is held to reflect on improving the welfare of children and to connect nations in the awareness of the needs and gifts of children. Childhood experiences vary among nations, and within nations, but World Children’s Day is a day to think about how to help provide the best foundation for all children, everywhere. This year, the universality of the day connects to a common need. As we all have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, children throughout the world…
November 15-21, 2020 is Education Savings Week
Education Savings Week is a nationally recognized event focused on promoting and educating parents and caregivers on how to start saving for their child’s post-secondary education. It is also a great opportunity to learn about some of the great incentives offered by the Government of Canada that help with those savings. Families can benefit from thousands of dollars in savings incentives from the Government. They are the Canada Learning Bond (CLB), Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and the Additional Canada Education Saving Grant (A-CESG) for low-…
Reorganizing the Way We Work
NWT Literacy Council’s work is rooted in connecting with community-based organizations. We do this through community visits, hosting trainings and networking events, and interacting directly with our many partners. As with all organizations, we have spent the last six months trying to strategize how we will do this work while adhering to Emerging Wisely regulations and respecting individual participants’ and communities’ comfort during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of our projects has had to change in their own ways. For Family Literacy, we have been working to…
Call-Out! Help to Promote Community Healthy Living: Oral Health Facilitator Training
Early childhood caries—also known as cavities—are one of the leading causes of day surgeries in children under five years of age in Canada. Oral health impacts a child’s physical, emotional, and intellectual wellbeing. When a child is in pain or loses teeth too early, it can impact speech development, and limit their ability to focus and learn and to eat healthy foods. The good news is that this is largely preventable. Supporting parents, and teaching young children how to take care of their teeth and gums from an early age, promotes lifelong healthy habits.…
Introducing Immigrants to Cranberry Picking
It is so rewarding to share a favourite activity with someone and to observe them enjoying it and understanding the attraction. Cranberry picking is like that for me. In the fall I could spend hours outside every day in a cranberry patch. The fruit is round, red and perfect. The light filtering through the leaves has a special quality to it. I savour every moment knowing that winter is coming. This fall I organized three cranberry-picking excursions for immigrants. The first time, I took a group of over 20 people into a flat, open…
The Importance of Goal Setting
Many of us have different goals we would love to strive towards. The particulars vary a lot from person to person, but these goals all have the common aspect of being aspirational. They can often feel unachievable, or worse, feel achievable, but for some reason we have not yet achieved them. They can be large goals, like running 10 km, or daily items like reading every day, sleeping eight hours a night, or watching less TV. The most important thing to keep in mind with any of these goals is that they can all be broken down into smaller, more concise steps. This…
Words from a Speak English Café VIP
I am Tony, from China. I have been in Yellowknife since April 2019. In the beginning of the days when I got here, I looked for ways to improve my English skills. Once I went to the library and saw a poster for the Speak English Café, pinned on a wall. Fortunately this program was especially for new immigrants and it was free. Absolutely I had no reason to let this opportunity go, so I took part in this program and I have been a VIP member. I have studied English since I was a grade 6 student in China. At that time, as a Chinese teenager, most of us were…
Health Literacy and COVID-19
Health literacy is a critical skill, as we weave our way through the COVID-19 pandemic. So, what is “health literacy”? Health literacy is how easily people can access information that affects their health, how well they understand that information, and how effectively they apply what they’ve learned to their lives. Being health literate lets people make wise decisions about health issues. At present, this means learning about the virus and how it is spread, knowing how to keep ourselves and others safe, and adapting our behaviours quickly to ensure everyone’…